Kraft hopes technology will tempt consumers to try, buy new products

Vending machine with camera at Shedd Aquarium to dispense Jell-O samples to adults. Trial may lead to broader use in grocery stores, other retailers.

December 15, 2011|By Emily Bryson York, Chicago Tribune reporter

Step up to the vending machine, undergo a facial screening and walk away with a free sample of Jell-O.

If you're an adult with a cellphone, it could be that easy for the next five weeks at Shedd Aquarium. Northfield-based Kraft is testing a high-tech vending machine at the aquarium that could be rolled out in grocery stores to offer samples of everything from Oscar Mayer deli meat to Oreos.

The current offer is for Temptations by Jell-O, a product designed specifically for adults, with grown-up flavors like key lime pie and strawberry cheesecake. By harnessing an Intel camera that functions as a sensor, the machine determines the age of the person requesting a sample. If the machine senses a child, it shuts off, and a panel lights up, with the words, "Sorry, kid. You're too young to experience an indulgence like this. Please step away so the adults can get their free treat."

Kraft is banking on the machine's novelty to help get products into consumers' hands, and correspondingly, help drive sales at the grocery store. In an age when consumers are flooded with ads on TV, Internet, radio and mobile devices, marketers are being forced to work harder to get attention and encourage consumers to spend time with their brands.

"It's a game changer," said Stacy DeBroff, CEO of Mom Central Consulting. "This idea of a vending machine that gives you stuff for free and building brand connections into retail product sales is pretty powerful."

After the machine determines the requester is an adult, it then prompts the individual to either text a code or swipe a bar code, depending on their phone. They then can select a flavor.

The mobile phone use is designed to prevent anyone from getting more than one sample on a given day, said Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation, consumer experiences at Kraft. The machine won't store phone numbers, but it will develop metrics about what customers like based on age or gender.

"This could be inside a retail grocery or mass merchant because we're seamlessly integrating in the technology," Kaczmarek said of the machine. "It's providing a new experience and is actually creating an emotional connection to our brand."

Next week, Kraft will install a second machine at New York City's South Street Seaport for a four-week run. Kaczmarek said the company was looking for high-traffic areas during the holidays.

While some may balk at the idea of giving personal information to a machine, Robert Passikoff, president of New York-based Brand Keys, said it's a trend that can't be stopped.

"The entire brand experience is shifting away from the old traditional model to everything that's hand-held, everything that's technologically advanced," he said. "TV ads aren't going away but they're not going to drive sampling or engagement."

The machine, being called the "iSample Experience," is the result of two years' work between Kraft and Intel Corp.. The first version was three times larger than the current, 4-foot-wide module, and designed as a meal planning tool. The machine would determine the user's gender and perhaps suggest a grilling recipe for a man.

But that first machine took up too much room, among other issues, Kaczmarek said. The new design is one-third the size.

Test results will determine if, or how quickly, the machines could arrive in stores. Kaczmarek said Kraft hasn't signed on any retailers because they have yet to see it, and he

declined to provide the cost associated with each machine.

DeBroff, noted that Kraft also is bypassing costs associated with third-party services that distribute samples by building and programming what's essentially a free vending machine.

She added that Kraft's ability to generate consumer interest in a sampling program is a win on its own.

"No one talks about the hundreds of millions of samples given out every year," DeBroff said. "But they put in some vending machine dispensing samples and everyone's buzzing about it."